1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to electronics packaging arrangements and, in particular, relates to soldered connections formed between chips and lead frames using lead-free solders, as well lead frame constructs and methods of manufacturing electronics packaging arrangements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Solder materials are used in the manufacture and assembly of a variety of electromechanical and electronic devices. In the past, solder materials have commonly included substantial amounts of lead to provide the solder materials with desired properties such as melting point, wetting properties, ductility and thermal conductivities. Some tin-based solders have also been developed. More recently, there have been attempts at producing lead-free and tin-free solder materials that provide desired performance characteristics.
In the electronics manufacturing industry, solder materials are used for making soldered connections between a chip and a lead frame. One family of lead-free solders are zinc-based solders, which are alloys including zinc as a major component, together with other alloying elements such as aluminum and/or additional elements as discussed, for example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/586,074 (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0045131), entitled “Lead-Free Solder Compositions”, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.